Sierra Canyon’s season ends with stunning loss to Loyola in baseball playoffs

CHATSWORTH—For seven innings, Sierra Canyon’s baseball team played well enough to win its CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff opener.

The top of the eighth inning, however, was the inning from hell for the Trailblazers.

Sierra Canyon faced 13 batters and watched seven runners cross home plate in the top of the eighth inning of an eventual 8-1 loss to Mission League rival Loyola in the opening round of the Division 2 playoffs Friday at M.J. Siegel Stadium in Chatsworth.

“I think that’s the worst inning we’ve had all year,” Sierra Canyon head coach Tom Meusborn said.

It was a stunning end for a team that entered the postseason by winning five of its last seven regular-season games, and seven of 10 outings. The Trailblazers finish the season with a 16-13 overall record.

Loyola, which lost six of its last seven games entering the the postseason, will bring a 16-12 record into its second-round game against Sultana (22-3-1) on Tuesday.

The Mission League rivals split their regular season battles: Sierra Canyon notched a 10-2 home win on March 10, but Loyola countered with a 2-1 win on its turf on March 14.

Ethan Montes, one of only four seniors for Sierra Canyon, played admirably in his last start in a Trailblazers uniform. Just call Montes, a burly 6-foot-1 185-pound right-handed pitcher, Wolverine in glasses.

Montes went 3 2/3 innings while settling for a no-decision.

“Tough loss,” Montes said. “It’s not the way we wanted to go out, but we put up a fight.”

The senior, who sports a 3.6 GPA in the classroom, is weighing four college baseball offers.

“I was just trying to throw strikes, and not think too much,” Montes said. “We have a lot of guys with great character who come together to work hard no matter what the circumstances are.”

Andrew Nelson, a senior center fielder, was emotional after his last high school baseball game.

The Trailblazer missed five and a half weeks with a midseason injury but returned to action to give his team a boost down the stretch.

“Man, this team meant everything to me,” Nelson said. “My freshman year, my sophomore year, all the seniors gave me advice. I had a special bond with each and every one of them. I’ve got a special connection with these kids, and I hope I made an impact on some of them. It’s going to be tough not to play with them ever again. … We fought our way to a playoff spot. I love the way that we battle the whole time.”

Nelson, a 4.16 GPA scholar-athlete, wants to study economics and try to walk on the San Diego State baseball team.

Cooper Rosenzweig, an infielder/designated hitter with a 3.6 GPA, and Mason Mitteldorf, a first baseman, are Sierra Canyon’s other seniors.

Teddy Levin, a junior center fielder, laid down a bunt that led to Sierra Canyon’s lone run, courtesy of Nelson, in the second frame. Kyus Howard, a sophomore left fielder who led off the inning with a standup double, was replaced by Nelson as a pinch runner.

Lucas Letts, a freshman right-hander, pitched well out of the bullpen for Sierra Canyon.

Mikhal Johnson, a junior first baseman and football standout, reached base in his first three at-bats with a double, single and getting hit by a pitch.

Dezi Delgado, Theo Swafford, Brayden Goldstein, Greyson Gullage (a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit), Aiden Jahng and Kingston Monette played well for Sierra Canyon in the team’s last game of the season.

Meusborn, who has been coaching baseball for more than 30 years, notched career win No. 750 during a 9-3 Sierra Canyon win on May 6, the regular-season finale, against Alemany.

“It means we’ve had a lot of good players and coaches. I appreciate every single one of them,” said the skipper, whose teams made 16 CIF championship game appearances at Dodger Stadium over the years. “When it’s all said and done, I’ll look back at it and enjoy it. Right now, (my focus) is on the next game.”